The LSU women’s basketball team has put a lot on its shoulders going into the 2013-14 season.
Lady Tigers coach Nikki Caldwell has her squad yearning for a Final Four bid and making sure it knows what it will take to get there with the season motto: “earned, never given.”
No. 17 LSU will get a chance to showcase just how prepared it is for a postseason run to Nashville as it takes on Tennessee Temple tonight in its first of two season-opening exhibition games.
Senior forward Theresa Plaisance said she and her team are ready to get back on the floor of the PMAC for the first time since advancing to the Sweet 16 in March.
“It’s so exciting,” Plaisance said. “Our last game here was the Penn State game and just having that feeling come back for a whole new season is very exciting in and of itself.”
If history has anything to say about it, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ Tennessee Temple shouldn’t pose much of a challenge to the nationally ranked Lady Tigers, who have beaten their opponents by an average of 37.8 points in their last five exhibition games since 2009.
But that doesn’t mean they aren’t taking the contest seriously.
“We’re definitely taking it as a real game,” said LSU senior guard Jeanne Kenney. “It’s a big test to see where we’re at as a team. I can only think of high things for this team, so I’m really excited about the game.”
Attendees of the game will get their first glimpse of LSU’s freshman class, which Caldwell has touted throughout the offseason.
Of the three freshmen, guard Raigyne Moncrief is expected to make the biggest impact early. Since arriving on campus, the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native has made a huge impact on Caldwell, who said multiples times Moncrief has the potential to be LSU’s next star.
“To say that she could by far be one of the best players to wear purple and gold is up to her,” Caldwell said. “Raigyne is very smart. With her skill and her will and bringing that combination together, nothing but greatness exists in her.”
Caldwell has also expressed optimism in the play of freshman Rina Hill, complimenting her basketball IQ and calling her “a true point guard in every sense of the word” at LSU Basketball Media Day on Monday.
“Rina knows the game and she sees the court well,” Caldwell said. “She brings a level of maturity at the point position for us. She is by far one of my hardest working players.”
“It’s so exciting. Our last game here was the Penn State game and just having that feeling come back for a whole new season is very exciting in and of itself.”